Mark W

If you go onto Trials-Shack and search for the last Ashton vid, you'll see what I mean. Or Engage Vid 3, which I think is the James Porter one. Basically, you find yourself a pretty standard gap, go to back wheel like you usually would, but when you go to kick over to the obstacle you're gapping to, you spin the bike 180 so you land back wheel first on the other side of the gap, and then 180 off it, so you end up riding off as though you'd just gapped straight over.

It's not a 360 tyre-tap in the BMX sense of things, it's that sorta backhop 180 to backhop 180 affair.

I think it's around 20-25mins, but there's extras too (5 trailers for videos/events, and a kinda pointless video with the last few covers from MBUK. I think there's something else too, but I can't remember).

'lo, This months MBUK is actually pretty good, and the DVD that comes with it is...well...really good, as it goes. Big Danny Holroyd feature with some new stuff on his Ashton and some older stuff from his TK vids, but it's still cool to watch. Also, got two riders from near here (Ben and Adam Morgan; Adam used to be in my music class so it's weird remembering him being the f**king nutso guy in that to suddenly doing pretty huge road-gaps...)) doing some big gaps and some tech DH stuff. There's a bit more of a jumping focus in it which isn't so hot if you're not a fan of trails stuff, and there's Rob Warner f**king up a bike which seems a bit wank really, but yeah, it's worth watching. Some good Trials How-To section in it too, with Sidehop-gap-drops, Front wheel/back wheel links, and 360 tyre-taps. Also, a really interesting article by Martyn Ashton about coming back from breaking his back and ending up doing a flip at a demo on an ET24. It's quite a good insight into his life, and it's just basically pretty good. Also, mention of Trials-Forum in there. I've basically posted this just to say that contrary to the usual pretty low standards of MBUK, this month is pretty good, and the DVD alone makes it worth buying. Mark. EDIT: Oh yeah, Neil Tunni interview too.

Ultra nice weather for ages. Now it's been pissing it down for 2 days straight. Also, it's set to piss it down from Monday-Thursday next week, the 4 days I'm in Porthcawl :)

Yeah, but I don't know who's video it is, what site, etc., so it's just a new video :)

Sandpaper.

ARe the remover tabs ground down though, or is it still all big 'n' sticky outy?

I had a pair ages ago that I loved. However, don't buy the Gusset version which is slightly different 'cos they're slippery to the max.

How old are the Koxx pads? Have they been contaminated with oil? Have they formed a glaze on the pad surface due to riding in the wet? Are they wearing quite thin so you have to have the TPA set right far in for them to work properly? Is the rim actually clean? Do you need to re-grind (a dead grind's worse than a clean rim by far)? Have you altered your brake set up? Do you need to leave it time to bed in and deal with the new way it's been set up? Are you *positive* the pads are set up correctly? Do you need to use Cif or white spirits to clean up the residue from tar? Do you just need to clean the rim, then pour water over it and scrub the brake down a hill? Do you just need new pads? Did it work before and now it doesn't? Answer me :)

Yeah, it's buy 3rd get 4th free. So me ordering my ticket on my own has now become a rigamarole of "Matt, have you bought the ticket yet?" "No, 'cos Baynham hasn't given me his money yet." "Can't I just order my own?" "No, 'cos we'll get one free." "But who's going to buy it?" "Don't know."

68x127.5 is adorning my T-Pro at present, although it's fractionally too long with an Eno freewheel on Muscleman cranks. I don't think that it would clear the BB shell with a 122.5 BB spindle though. Aaaaaaanyhoo, yeah, UN-53, 68x127.5, wiggle.co.uk or chainreactioncycles.com, job done. Mark. EDIT: The chain doesn't rub, btw. It's just that the chain-line is shocking, and is wearing the right side of my Eno out :-

Well, you're right in that it doesn't buckle 'cos of loose spokes, but to say it doesn't buckle at all's a bit of a fabrication of the truth (Y) Spokes are cheap and easy to replace, a well-built wheel takes a LOT of force to rape, and so they're just a bit better really. If you're a racer and you need to minimise the turbulence and drag caused in the wheel as it rotates 'cos of spokes churning the air I guess they might work, but that's about it.

Maaaaaaaaaaybe, but the width of the tyre varies hugely depending on rim, pressure, and so on. You don't know how wide it is in the first place anyway, so if you can test it for real that'd be better. But I suppose if he measures it and it comes out as 2.6" 'tween the stays he's raped either way.

It's been added to the stolen bikes thread.

Yeah, some of the squiggles seemed a bit OTT, but some of it like when the wall coloured in and kinda shot off in front of him when he was riding along it were cool.

I wouldn't have thought it would've affected it much in that sense at all? The strength of the chain across (As in going down the side plates to the next link, if you get me) wouldn't be altered that much. I think it's more to do with the side-plate shape that affects it. Like the Shadow chain stretches like a mo'f**ker just 'cos it's got that half-link style side plate, whereas this is just straight along so it should have more tensile strength?

Nope, it's new to me. New, and at the same time a little worrying. Managed to shear one of the burly side wall versions, so I think I'll steer clear of that.

Click, or alternatively die. I just found this vid on Trials-Shack. It's probably really old or something, but it's got some really nice editing touches in there. The riding's not exactly amazing, but it's a really good video all the same; the editing's pretty tight to be fair. Well worth a watch anyway, got some techniques people might want to...er...borrow. Mark.

It's the opposite for me; I love having my lever come back well close to the bar. To do this and not have a loosey goosey lever, it means the TPA's gotta be wound in pretty damn far, which means when I set up the pads there's got to be about 3 days travelling distance between the pad and the rim, otherwise the lever action's a bit waffer. This is all bearing in mind I've got a super duper long TPA bolt in so there's more adjustment that your average puny Magura lever. The new translucent 'sink pads seem to work super well. Sikamon came down with his, and after a quick scrub down a hill they were, to put it mildly, bitchin'. I've recently had to go back to the Yellow 'sinks, 'cos my green ones ran out after a short while, and the yellows don't feel too bad really. I've got a pretty dead grind on my back rim though, so I had to use a smidge of tar just to get some nice performance straight off the bat, but the tar's not visible any more (so I'm guessing it's gone fully), and it's locking up really nicely still. Might have to get some X-Hydras 'cos I want to know if they were as amazing as I remember them being. First set lasted me a year and a half. Them were the days...

From experience, cue Chris Ratcliff (Y)

http://www.trials-forum.co.uk/forum/index....cmd=si&img=1372

I run 28" (I think) wide Pazzaz carbon risers on my T-Pro, and the wheelbase on that doesn't quite reach the 1000mm mark. It's mainly down to shoulder width, etc., just to get a nice feel, pretty much. I wouldn't want to go below 27"-ish either way, unless you want to be Mr. Barspinner or something.

I know what you mean - I'm thinking of going back to them now... Anyhoo, pads can just simply become properly contaminated by oil, and I know the Hydras are basically orange plastic, but still (Y) Have you GT-85'd the pistons at all, or tried the "Squeeze the lever and lube the outside edge of the piston bit" trick?